


The Clever Lady has Prepared a Bath for Two

by cjg



Series: Moments Unseen [2]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Comfort, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Healing, Implied/Reference to Temporary Character Death, Mild Spoiler For Episode 87, Partial Nudity, That is a weird tag, Undressing, spoilers for episode 81
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-04
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-10-14 18:16:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10541898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cjg/pseuds/cjg
Summary: The one where somehow under all the layers of dragon gore and ash and through the cuts, bruises, burns, and sweat they’re alive.OrThe one where after the Battle for Emon, everyone just wants a bath. Percy certainly does and Vex, Vex has certain ideas about how exactly she'd like to get cleaned up. Which is when Percy accidentally walks in on Vex preparing her bath, a bath that’s actually meant for two and really, Percy shouldn’t be surprised by what’s in the beer steins.A moment set before the bath scene in episode 81.





	

The wide open door in the hall that houses the baths is a surprise as he turns the corner. He fully expected to sit on the floor, in his usual spot, and wait for the next available bath, it's why he has a book under his arm along with his change of clothes.

In an attempt to claim the bath as his own, he almost crashes into Vex as she's leaving the room. Only avoiding a collision because when they both see each other's movement they press into either side of the door frame.

They both wince when their backs hit the wood, the pain dulled to a fraction of what it should be because of lingering healing magic.

The warmth of the small room leaves one side of him cold in the hallway and looking into the room now, he can't quite see the tub, the open door hides most if it, but he can tell that it is filled. Her clean clothes and a few towels are on the long wide bench directly across from the door, underneath the window. She seems to have set everything up just the way she likes. The air even smells like the fresh rosemary and mint she adds to the water and the clean scented soap she prefers to use in her hair.

Looking at her well, he knows he's biased but he finds her insanely beautiful and mildly intimidating covered in layers of dragon gore and ash. Her braid is behind her back but he knows it is keeping itself together surprisingly well. She has cuts, bruises, and the same light red burns that he has, peppering her body. Much of it is healed and will continue to heal while she sleeps but he knows the burns at least are still slightly painful when touched.

They’re both real messes. Even under her armor and other layers, the blouse she's wearing is singed at the edges and there are tears in the fabric of her leggings. His shirt did not fare any better and a portion of the left leg of his trousers is burnt off, by a fire elemental or Thordak's fire he can't be sure.

It really looks like they've been through hell.

Before he even knows what’s happening she’s stepped into his space and is hugging him tightly around his waist, her head on his shoulder. When he’s no longer in shock from the sudden embrace he brings his arms up around her, carefully so not to aggravate any of the burns the both of them have or to drop his clothes. His ever present blush in situations like this begins to rise up his neck and onto his face and ears.

He can feel one steady exhale from her like she’d been holding her breath.

The relief that washes over them could be measured in how far their shoulders drop.

Slowly she starts to lean even further into him, so he's the only thing keeping her upright. “We’re alive Percy,” is murmured softly into his shirt, after she says it he can feel her growing smile through the fabric.

He presses a kiss into her hair because it’s the only place he can reach without drastically changing their position, something he would loathe doing. The pressure of her body against his own is incredibly satisfying and it gives him the added privilege of being able to both feel and hear her steady breathing. A comfort that he needs, especially right now.

Doors may be the bane of Vox Machina’s existence but proper doors have actually been incredibly kind to him, to them, over the past two days. The door frame behind him is keeping them upright at the moment and the wood pressing into his back is hardly an issue when he has Vex, relaxed and happy, in his arms.

They stay there for a long moment then she lifts her head off of his shoulder and kisses his jaw gently before shifting off of him completely and moving away, into the room slightly, but still keeping a grip on his left arm.

He watches her intently. She doesn't look at him, she's actually looking into the room with a small smile on her face which is when he takes his cue to leave. Not that he wants to, but he really should let her be. The sooner she's done the sooner everyone else will be clean.

Exhaling a sigh, to get her out of the daze she is in, he speaks clearly, “I apologize for interrupting. I can wait out here till you’re finished.”

He tries to break from her hold before turning to leave and that more than anything else is what gets her to react. Her fingers tighten around his forearm and he stops moving, if she wants him here he's staying.

She starts to speak then stops. This happens once more before she lets out a noise of frustration, one that shouldn't be adorable, but it is. She takes her hand off his arm and it comes up to cover the lower portion of her face.

She says, much more softly and hesitantly than he expected, "I thought that this would be simple after everything." Her hand still covers her mouth but it does nothing to stop him from seeing the distressed look on her face.

"I was actually about to go find you, Percy. I'd like you to stay here with me if you want." She's choosing her words very thoughtfully and her tone is a bit more uncertain than he ever likes to hear from her.

He can help her with this.

Thinking for a moment then stepping a little closer, he places a hand on her upper arm and says, “I know today’s been a lot but I’m right here with you.” He gestures at the room. “This is whatever you want.” Hoping that it will help to remind her that she’s in control of this.

It does seem to work because after a minute of watching her closely he can see her trying to gather herself. After taking a few deep breaths, some of the natural confidence she usually has comes back to her and when her hand is no longer covering her mouth a small smirk appears on her lips.

Her eyes are what he’s focused on the most, and he’s relieved but also mildly concerned when she looks up at him and they're mischievous. Giving him one good long look up and down. Then in a fit of sudden movement, that he wasn’t expecting, she grabs the pile of clothes and the book from under his arm, kisses him quickly on the cheek then turns around and walks into the room.

Staying where he is, he watches as she reaches the bench across from the door and puts his things down on it next to her own change of clothes.

Captivated by her every movement he follows her with his eyes as she pulls back the curtain and ties it back so the morning light that shines in will hit the bath, leaving most everything else in dark shadow by comparison.

A thin layer of steam is visible now because of the light and while she's half in shadow, the light is refracting off her hair so it shines. It's a striking visual and the rest of his body agrees but the steam means he won't be able to see it for long, his glasses will fog up the more he moves into the room and closer to the tub he gets.

Sitting down on the bench, she glances up at him momentarily before slowly unbuttoning her blouse. One, two, three tiny wooden buttons are all he can take before interrupting her progress.

He's been meaning to try this just to see what sort of reaction she'll have. It's a little shitty of him to do it now but he just can't stop himself. "So are you inviting me to share this bath with you, Lady Vex’ahlia?" keeping his tone light and curious but with just a little more emphasis on the last part.

The sharp inhale she makes is audible and her eyes immediately meet his, her fingers fumble, concentration on the tiny buttons lost.

Oh, he wants to try that again.

Her eyes still locked with his, he can actually see her remembering that there was a question she needs to answer.

"I am. I didn't prepare this with just me in mind, Percival,” she gestures toward the bath that is still beyond his sight and then looks down a bit from his face, clearly seeing through his trousers what this situation is doing to him. She smirks just a bit more, a pleased look on her face, then she goes back to undoing her buttons.

Torn between watching her, the tan breast band she wears now partially visible, and the curiosity of what is behind the door, after a second the unknown wins and he walks into the room, beyond the door, and looks toward the large round bathtub that’s set into the corner of the room.

It is filled with water like he thought, the tap turned off, a tray on the corner has two beer steins on it and a few types of soaps, including the ones they both use. Around the back edge of the tub are multiple pitchers. Some he can tell hold water for rinsing but there are two that are different, special. The design of the pitcher used only for the prepared ingredients of a classic Whitestone Milk Bath.

All of this should not be surprising to him anymore but it is. Knowing that she not only wants to share her bath with him, but also set this up for them, and willingly wants to spend even more time not doing anything after they're already clean except sit and soak with him is overwhelming.

Only two words come to his mind. It's yours, it's yours, it's yours, they repeat over and over in his head but it's not Vex saying it, as it so very often is these days, it's his own voice. The words are for a moment on the tip of his tongue but then fall back into his throat, getting stuck there uncomfortably.

What he does manage to get out is a rather embarrassingly breathless, “You're wonderful." The tone would have been perfect for other, better, more accurate, and honest words.

Even with this blunder, which is thankfully unknown to her, he suspects there is a blush rising on her cheeks but he can't be sure because she very suddenly becomes extremely interested in the button she's undoing, when previously she'd been looking up at him and unbuttoning her shirt at the same time just fine.

At closer inspection, the tips of her ears give her away and that he feels is an accomplishment by itself. She’s rarely one to blush and she does it so beautifully. He, on the other hand, will probably spend most of their moments together for the foreseeable future with a bright pink face, no matter what they're doing.

When she is finished with the buttons, she doesn’t take her shirt off right away instead, the small black pouch of cards that she had in her breast band is pulled out first and put on the bench. Taking her earring off, and then reaching for her braid, she brings it to the front and slips the leather cord that holds it taught off the end of her hair. The items in her palm, she holds it out, wordlessly asking for his own earring or at least that’s what he thinks she wants.

Taking the earring off is strange at this point, he very rarely notices it when he looks at himself anymore, he keeps it in almost constantly. It's just a part of him now. He's very careful not to touch the gem as he takes it out. A light layer of condensation settles on the lenses of his glasses, blurring his vision minimally as he walks toward her, five steps.

He places it in her palm right next to her earring and as he pulls back his hand she curls her fingers up just a bit so her fingers lightly brush his.

It's their callouses that meet so it barely tickles but what he realizes is how everything about this has a level of finesse and precision that was absent during their previous night together. Each movement now gradual and deliberate. All of it slowly driving him mad but in the most comfortable way, because this really feels natural, it feels like them and it's wonderful.

She moves just a little and it brings him back out of his head. She’s put what was in her palm on top of the black pouch and is in the process of shrugging out of her shirt as she looks beyond him.

“I’ve always admired how smart you are darling but you forgot to close the door,” there’s a bit of laughter in her voice and her head indicates the direction of the door like he’s lost and forgot where the door is. She’s not exactly wrong to direct him, though, he had in his mind written away anything that he wasn’t currently looking at as unimportant.

Stepping backward just a bit, he kicks the door closed with his foot. There is nothing in all the realms that in this moment could make him turn away from Vex, gloriously alive and practically half naked.

He’s rewarded for his ingenious method of door closing by a particular smile that she so rarely has on her face in front of others but when it’s there he’s usually the one to cause it.

Five steps and he’s in her space again, offering to help her up off the bench before he even realizes what he’s doing. Surprisingly enough she takes the offered arm and actually leans on him as she rises from the bench, pressing against his side. Her smile changing to a slight frown as she wobbles a little bit.

A second passes and she lets go, straightening she adjusts so she’s not pressing against him anymore, stepping just past him, her back to him, she’s still so close, just a little closer to the tub than he is, but not close enough to be covered in the light coming in from the window.

From where he is he can clearly see the ends of the fabric of her breast band hanging down just to the left of her right arm. They’re still right where he'd seen her finish wrapping it yesterday morning. Which is quite amazing given all that's happened since then.

He wraps a few fingers around one of the ends, the one that he knows will be the easier one to unwrap and his knuckles rest on her back. She leans into his touch beautifully, actually taking half a step backward, not wanting the contact to stop.

"May I?" his voice is shaking as he asks because he'd really like to do at least some of this, this time around. He hadn’t gotten the chance the first time and he’s been thinking about this bit in particular for much longer than he'd ever care to admit.

She turns her head slightly, nods her head yes, and gives him a wink. After she turns her head back all he can think about is how it must be her goal to drive him crazy before they even get in the tub.

Together they get quite a few layers of the soft fabric unwrapped before he gets distracted by a scar on her shoulder, a long-healed stab wound from a dagger possibly. It’s not unique, there's another scar very similar on the side of her upper arm, but this spot is interesting because it has no new cuts, bruises, or burns. It's been completely unaffected by the battle and honestly, it's reassuring that some part of them still is even if it's just a bit of skin that's already scarred.

He’s kissed this scar before, yesterday morning in fact, and he kisses it again now. Gently at first then with an opened mouth so he covers the raised line. His eyes close when she lets out a little breathy gasp, encouraging him to continue on. Running the tip of his tongue along the scar he can taste her sweat with ash mixed in.

When he opens his eyes it's because she has two fingers incredibly close to his lips and he could feel the air moving around them. Leaning a little further forward he ends up kissing the first knuckle of her middle finger before she moves her hand away. She turns around slowly, undoing another layer of her breast band as she goes. He still holds the end of the fabric in one hand and he gathers it up as it falls. Not quite folding it but piling it together neatly enough, making it much more manageable to hold.

The rest of the fabric that's around her is now loose enough that she can unravel it from the other end. He’s of no help for a moment as he watches her, he loves watching her. She takes the rest of the fabric from him and finishes gathering it from where he left off and drops it onto the bench behind him.

He reaches for her waist but she redirects him midway, guiding him to the end of her braid. Untangling the soft plaited hair is simple while she begins unbuttoning his shirt. In this moment he is infinitely glad he went without an undershirt, knowing how warm Emon would be, especially when her fingertips just start grazing his chest as she progresses down.

At first, she works the buttons open with both hands but as she passes below the middle of his chest she starts using only one. Her right pushes the left side of the shirt back, revealing the scars, or rather what remains of the bullet wounds and claw marks that killed him. When she’s done unbuttoning his shirt her left hand settles on his hip and he stops unbraiding her hair in order to take the shirt off completely, tossing it in the direction of the bench and resuming his work in her hair after.

His breathing becomes shallow while she gives her complete attention to every scar, running her warm right hand over them, tracing them with her fingers. He can feel himself getting warmer and therefore redder at her touch.

She presses a kiss to the scar that’s from the bullet that he’s almost certain killed him. It barely grazed him at the time, leaving a small mark just below his collarbone, but somehow it was enough.

When he’s done undoing her hair he moves the mass so it’s behind her and rests his hand on her back, keeping some of the hair in place. He moves his other hand around her waist. That grounds him in a way he hadn’t known he needed. It's enough that he's able to recognize what she's doing when she begins to clearly whisper an incantation against his chest and moves her hand off his scars. He lets out a small sigh in anticipation then pulls in a deep breath at the last second.

The spell releases into him when she kisses that spot again. Closing his eyes, he can feel the force of the spell moving all throughout his body trying to find something internal to heal first then when it finds nothing it moves outward through his skin. It mostly feels like a layer of warmth as it moves through his body, tingling a little once it reaches his skin, causing the hairs on his body to rise. It finds focus on a mildly large cut he has on his forehead and a throbbing bruise he has on his side. Healing both spots completely.

Opening his eyes after the magic subsides and he's met with her face, eyes bright and the rest of her expression entirely too smug. He must have made it obvious how much he enjoyed that. Her hand comes up and reaches for the cut that had just closed, she looks so pleased when she feels that it's gone.

Interrupting whatever thoughts she's having by trying this out again just to see if it will cause similar results, he leans in a bit more, whispering, "What else do you have in mind for us, Lady Vex’ahlia?" He can't stop the smile from forming on his lips and what's more, he doesn't want to hide it, not from her.

Her right hand leaves his forehead and is moved to the side of his neck and her thumb, she runs her thumb over his lips, resting at the upturned corner of his mouth. Her eyes, bright and mischievous.

Getting almost as close as she can he can see her thinking for a moment. Then she tilts his head to one side and begins to say very casually at first into his right ear, "First, we're not going to talk about what happened to me today, I'm just not ready. I do want us to help each other wash, though. Then we're going to refill the tub and have a long soak. I can lean back on you when I get tired and we'll kiss whenever we want and, Percy, if you keep calling me Lady Vex’ahlia, more than that can be arranged for after we’re dry." Her voice by the time she finishes is low and full of promises and it makes him shiver. He's looking forward to all of it.

She doesn't need to say that she's going to tease him constantly the entire time, her tone says it clearly enough. She does slip her hand between them, from where it was resting on his hip, to just hold him through his trousers.

Not even trying for any sort of control, he presses repeatedly into her hand. The pressure she’s making, it feels so good and she keeps her hand there for far longer than he thought she would.

The whine of protest he makes when she shifts her hand over to his hip again makes her giggle. Which almost makes the change worth it, Vex's giggles are an excellent sound.

Barely able to control himself before breaking into laughter too, he says in fake seriousness, “Terrible person.” There’s no bite or malice in his words and if anything it makes her laugh more.

She has the biggest smile on her face before she calms down enough to reply slowly, “I know, just the worst." Her voice still full of laughter.

Which is when he tilts his head down just enough so he can capture the sound as it comes out. It’s not even really a kiss, not at first. They’re more laughing into each other’s mouths for a second until she uses the hand she has around his neck to adjust the angle enough so she can nip at his bottom lip, changing it into a proper kiss.

For him everything slows when he brings his hand, that was still on her back, around to gently cup her breast, tickling the side a little and making her moan softly into his mouth. Then moving his hand down to her waist, trying to tickle her on the way and holding her to him desperately.

They end the kiss because they have to, not because they want to. While still in each other’s arms, they both take quite a few deep breaths before they are able to think, let alone speak.

She runs her thumb over his lips again and he uses his reaction to kiss it. She asks softly after a minute of stillness, "Does all of that sound alright?"

It takes him a second to realize and remember what it is she's asking about but when all of his thoughts snap together, well he answers completely truthfully. "I will always help you wash with or without the possibility of more, clever lady," he's putting unnecessary emphasis on this but it's a promise he's more than willing to keep.

Her right eyebrow rises at the change in the endearment for a second but drops when she speaks, her voice soft but clear, “Smart man with a smart answer." She is taking his promise for what it is hopefully.

Stepping backward and rotating a little, still wrapped together. He grips her sides tightly and follows her when she moves them closer to the tub. Stopping when the sides of their thighs hit the high edge of the tub,

A small laugh comes from her as she notices his glasses. Fogged up completely this close to the hot water, his vision through the glasses a haze of white and around the edges a blurred version of real life. He is not worried, he has the cloth he uses to clean his lenses in a pocket of his trousers. Trying to get it now would mean ending this embrace which would be disagreeable. His mind instead takes him to thoughts about his most recent successful experiment.

Unable to keep himself from bringing it up he asks, “So, the title does work for you?”

She stills for a second before speaking, “Oh, it works for me, but it’s mostly because of the way you say it. I like it, your voice. I mean, I think it’s nice.”

Well, that is certainly useful to know.

She rests her head down on his shoulder, some of her hair comes around and tickles his chest. Her face is warm against him. She's blushing he can feel it.

A minute passes like this and he can feel her clear her throat before she says quietly, "I like to listen to you talk because I love the sound of your voice.”

That information sends him into his head, multiple thoughts suddenly flooding in, each more interesting than the last. That's something to think about at length later.

Brought out of his thoughts by her moving away from him, he can tell that she’s moving toward the tray. He can actually see her for a second out of the side of his glasses, covered in the morning light. So he uses this opportunity to take the cloth out of his pocket. He successfully wipes away, at least momentarily, the condensation from his glasses, shoving the cloth back into the pocket when he’s finished.

It doesn't take him long to get his glasses back in place. So he can see her clearly again.

Carrying both steins over to him, she passes him one and takes a drink from her own while sitting down on the edge of the tub. He follows suit, sitting next to her, their sides brushing.

He looks down expecting some sort of brown ale or beer but is surprised to find the liquid inside brighter in color.

Smelling it quickly, he’s coming to a conclusion about what's in the stein when she says from his side, incredibly pleased, "I made mimosas."

A flash of her doing that little dance at the dining room table not an hour ago runs through his mind and he actually does whisper what she said in that moment out loud.

She scoots away and does the dance again, laughing instead of saying the words. He laughs too because of the dance and because her hair goes wild as she moves. When she stops he pushes her hair back behind her shoulder and puts his free hand on her knee and leans in and kisses her cheek.

While straightening up, he says softly, “You’re lovely and I adore you.”

The stein she had put down is up near her mouth again the instant he’s far enough away, she holds it with two hands. After she takes another sip her eyes follow the stein down to her lap, fingers fidgeting with the rim and not looking at him on purpose. She’s blushing and doing a poor job at hiding it from him again, this time the light from the window is hitting her and lighting her so well.

“Dear, I know you're blushing," he's teasing her gently and he sees her reaction, which is to blush more. The pinkness spreading down from her face to her neck and the top of her shoulders.

“Oh shush,” she says half a minute later, stein now down on the edge of the tub, he’s not even speaking, just smiling at her when she turns to him.

Pulling him in so quickly he doesn’t have a chance to breathe before she’s kissing him thoroughly enough that he can taste the drink on her tongue.

When she lets him go his glasses have fogged up again and he can tell that she notices this almost instantly. Her hand moving toward his pocket for the cloth. He gets it out for her and she plucks his glasses from his face and wipes them off.

Passing them back to him, he puts them on and takes a good look at her.

She is such a marvelous person to be in love with.

He needs to make sure that they’re not going to rush through whatever small amount of time they’ve earned. She died again today and while she doesn’t want to talk about it, he’s determined to make the time matter. To make it wonderful for her, not just in this moment, but for whatever time they have.

The one selfish goal he has right now is that the next time one of them dies he doesn’t want to still be able to keep track of every time they’ve kissed. He’d like to lose count and he would like to start working on that as soon as he’s done with his drink, maybe before, he's undecided.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos appreciated.


End file.
